Disturbing Encounter.

I used to head the Martial Arts Program at a Gym in Nine Mile Falls Washington a while back until I decided to leave for conflict of interest.
There was a kid that worked there who was constantly asking questions and whom I often invited for private lessons free of charge.

He was a bright kid, went to school, was in the running start program at the Community College taking Business, Accounting, and Computer Programming Courses. He was the tech guy for the Gym's network and also the Customer Service Representative for the front desk when he had the availability.
He had something good going and a deep interest to understand things, a constant need for knowledge in whatever subject was presented.

I saw this kid a few days ago when I went with my brother to take a drug screening at a place that was right next door to an Aikido Dojo.
There is a huge court case going on and my Brother is required to take the drug screening because of his past, I was there for support, as I always will be as long as he stays on the straight and narrow.
Anyways, there was this guy there talking about how he had just started to come down and was told he had to take the screening that day, that he was nervous as he was afraid they were going to take his daughter away from him.
Some of his friends walked out of the gas station across the street and came over to meet him, who should one of them be but this kid from the Gym. He looked really bad, his eyes glazed over, unshaved, unkempt, dirty clothes, and pale.
He could not look me in the eyes, did not say hi, did not say one word. He kicked about nervously, looking around this way and that, as if for an escape route.

My brother had given some good advice to the guy that was going in for the screening, get off the drugs and do what you need to do, essentially, grow up.
The ironic thing about all this was that all these kids were wearing 'Tapout' t-shirts. I'm sorry if some might take offense to this, but this is a trend I have noticed again and again.
I hope this kid and his friends find something worth while and get out of the things that they have gotten into.

While not a formal student of mine, it does really hit home. Blame the recession, blame whatever we want to blame, but in truth, the shortcomings need to be addressed on the part of the Teacher as well as those who would come to the Teacher to learn something.
I don't think we can be held accountable for every choice a student makes, then again, we are not just in a position to Teach, we are in a position to give example, to Mentor, especially when it comes to children.
Spokane is especially bad for outside influence, considering everything that is going on, all one needs to do to face reality here is look outside at the broken streets, the homeless, the drug addicted, and those oblivious to the real problem.
[I am not meaning to insinuate that those who train MMA are all like this, just that it was ironic that they, like all the others in the herd, are following the pack in popular brand names and it just so happens to be an MMA brand].